Health Talk:  HomeCall

Carroll Lutheran Village has a unique partnership with a home health agency, HomeCall. Though residents can choose other home health agencies, with HomeCall they’ll receive in-home physical, occupational and speech therapy from our therapists. In addition to receiving high quality of care from the same therapists who are part of our award winning rehabilitation department, residents gain a stronger continuity of care.

HomeCall’s goal is to keep people out of the hospital and provide them with a chance for rehabbing back to being as independent as possible. It’s dedication to quality care and service is reflected in its five start rating. The team does everything they can to help patients remain comfortable in their home, and out of the hospital, performing daily activities.

Services

Unlike home care, which tends include professionals who are in the home several hours a day providing services that do not require doctor’s orders and are not covered by insurance. HomeCall provides home health care, which requires a doctor’s order and is covered by insurance.

HomeCall offers skilled nursing, social work, home health aide and physical, occupational and speech therapy services to patients in the wider community as well as our residents, but only our residents can receive in-home physical, occupational and speech therapy from our therapists.

HomeCall provides care to patients who have:

• been diagnosed with new condition
  have recently been hospitalized
• experienced multiple hospitalizations or rehabilitative services in the past year
• frequently visited the doctor’s office because of a chronic condition, multiple falls or mobility issues
• suffer from incontinence and bowel issues and vision problems

Chronic Conditions
HomeCall’s team works with patients’ primary care physicians, assessing the issue(s) and providing education to help them and their families understand and manage their newly diagnosed or existing chronic condition(s) including any any medication they may be taking. For example, when people are first diagnosed with diabetes, it’s common for them to feel overwhelmed and experience difficulty manage it. HomeCall’s team educates them and their family on managing it and the medication, so they avoid having to be admitted to the hospital.

Falls
HomeCall’s team works with those who have recently fallen and focuses on preventing additional falls from occurring. With education combined with HomeCall’s active life balance program, which involves physical therapy, patients learn how to remain active, increase their strength and endurance, and reduce their risk for falling again.

Poor vision can increase a person’s fall risk. HomeCall offers programs and assistance that help those individual adapt to their vision changes and, likewise, help to reduce falling.

Vitals
HomeCall’s telemonitoring program is like an extra set of eyes and ears when the nurse or the physical therapist isn’t at the patient’s home. A small device monitors and communicates vital signs remotely, which provides patients with additional security and care. If vitals are unstable, the team is altered and  contacts the patient. Patients are also able to monitor their vitals – blood pressure, pulse, oxygen and blood sugar. The telemonitoring program helps provide a greater level of independence with security.

Incontinence
Bladders becomes weaker with age, so it’s important to maintain existing strength. HomeCall developed a pelvic floor therapy program specifically to assist those suffering from incontinence. Reducing incontinence risk helps reduce the risk of infections, falls and hospitalizations.

Respiratory Recovery
The respiratory recovery program focuses on strengthening breathing of individuals who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, experienced a need for medical ventilation from a recent illness (e.g. pneumonia and COVID-19) and requires supplemental oxygen.

Accessing Care from HomeCall

A doctor has to prescribe services for HomeCall to provide services. As a result, the HomeCall team works closely with primary care physicians and our medical doctor for patients living in our community to coordinate care.

Medicare and private insurance is accepted by HomeCall. However, Medicare requires patients only leave their home under certain circumstances to promote safety, healing and continuity of care. It’s been determined that it takes great effort for these patients to leave home, and they require the presence of another person (e.g. an adult child, spouse or someone at Carroll Lutheran Village) to assist them with going outside of their home and maintain treatments and care. It’s also been determined they require an assistive device to leave their home.

HomeCall’s goal is to provide quality home health services and keep their patients independent and safe at home. Call 410-848-5379 for more information and to set up services.

Again, during this last year, many patients have been isolated due to COVID-19. According to the National Scientist Report regarding the effects of social isolation: during this COVID-19 pandemic, patients who exhibit signs of isolation and loneliness show 50% increased risk of developing dementia, 59% increased risk of functional decline, 29% increased risk of incident coronary artery disease, 25% increased risk of cancer mortality and 32% increased risk of stroke”

“This is something that has been out there, and we focus on making sure that we touch every aspect of our patient’s life and to help them, again, rehab and gain some sort of independence as possible. Our goal is your goal, and once you meet your goal, we have done everything we have in home health.”